When Chicago Meets Moldova

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30 Days Straight: #9

– I was really proud of the students in our English club today. We had 6 participants and watched Apocalypto. If you are not familiar with the story it is about one Mayan tribesman named Jaguar Paw who escapes from being sacrificed in order to save his life and those of his abandoned family. The dialogue is in nothing but Yucatec Maya with English subtitles. The students ages 15-18 followed along and were able to discuss difficult phrases and words in our discussion. They were very engaged and we all had a good time, laughing and joking repeatedly. I enjoy the club. It is fun, the students challenge me, and it always makes me feel productive for the hour and a half that we are together. They have gained a ton of confidence when speaking to me and that makes me feel great.

– EXTREMELY GRAPHIC [I was walking back to the office this afternoon when something furry appeared in the corner of my eye. I had to double take when I saw a pile of hair on the street. There were four legs yet nothing else. Sadly, it was a stray dog… without a head. The wheel of a large automobile must have run over its skull because its blood and brains were smeared across the pavement.] I TOLD YOU IT WAS GRAPHIC

– The Entrepreneurship department at the District Council and the Professional School across town helped me out big time today by coordinating participants for our mid-March business trainings with special guest organization Winrock. Our business incubator will be helping them to facilitate different courses to local entrepreneurs and business-minded high school students. The goal of the project is to help enhance small business at the rural level. We helped Winrock in November deliver the same trainings and it was very successful. The participants were able to learn many valuable marketing tools such as S.W.O.T. Analysis, the 4 P’s, Competitive Analysis, Needs Based Assessments, and how to maintain financial documents. They even went through a mini business simulation where they had to create their own businesses unique to their city and compete amongst one another. The rural areas around Moldova are in need of this instruction so I am glad we can help provide the community with these types of activities.

– Carrots are covered in dirt at the super market. I had to scrub one real hard for dinner over hot water.

– I spoke with my cousin Brigid through Skype this morning. It was great to see her again. We began planning out our trip to Switzerland this summer. She mentioned something about jumping off cliffs into water. As if I have not destroyed my ankles enough already…

– Today was one of those days I strutted how with a smile.

– The grant is super close to being finished. We received half of the owners’ signatures this afternoon and are waiting on the Romanian portion to be fully proofread and edited. I cannot wait to get this in. There are many more exciting projects to tackle in March. We are gunning for corporate sponsorships, giving more presentations at universities, and finding mentors for our business owners.